Friday, October 28, 2011

Happy Birthday Lady Liberty!!!!

I have only been to New York one time in my life, and unfortunately, it didn't include a visit to see the Statue of Liberty. Logan just happened to be in NY this week and got close enough to snap this picture as he passed by it while steering his tugboat through the harbor. Today marks the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986. To mark the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, 125 immigrants from 46 countries were sworn in as United States citizens during a ceremony Friday. The naturalization ceremony on Liberty Island kicked off a daylong celebration of the dedication of the statue in 1886, which has welcomed millions of new immigrants to America on their way to Ellis Island. For her birthday this year, Lady Liberty is getting a high-tech uplift. Five webcams attached to the torch held high in New York harbor will offer views not seen by the public in nearly a century.The webcams went live during a ceremony on Liberty Island, from computers afar, viewers were able to watch live video streams of traffic, boats and airplanes in high-resolution panoramic images showing the Manhattan skyline, the city's borough of Brooklyn and neighboring New Jersey. Officials closed the torch to the public in 1916 during World War One, following an explosion at a nearby munitions depot, blamed on German saboteurs, that damaged the statue. It was a day of events today on Liberty Island to mark the anniversary, including a reading of Emma Lazurus' poem "The New Colossus" by actress Sigourney Weaver and renditions of both the French and U.S. national anthems.After the celebration, access to the statue's interior, including its crown, will be closed for about a year while the statue is renovated, although Liberty Island will remain open to visitors. About 3 million people visit the Statue of Liberty per year.